Adoption
by ROSSELLA1
Summary: Something's wrong with Team Free Will...or so Gabriel thinks. Third in 'How Hammer of the gods Should Have Ended' series.


Adoption

By ROSSELLA1

Note: I do not own Supernatural or any of its characters. Sequel to 'We Lost Him' and third in 'How Hammer of the gods Should Have Ended' series. Yes, I'm making it a series because I like this way better than the way the show settled the Apocalypse.

Something was wrong. Something was definitely wrong with their little group and, for the life of him, Gabriel didn't know how to fix it. It terrified him. All the signs that had occurred when his own family split up were happening with the Winchester brothers and Castiel. The heated discussions between individual members and the groups. People trailing off, not finishing their thoughts. And the forced conversation and smiles to hide the seriousness of their arguments. The worst part was that Gabriel had no idea what the arguments were even about because they never included him. Gabriel had done his best to find out. Hanging out more and more with the group, asking individual members how things were going. But whenever he turned up or approached, the arguments grinded to a halt and everyone pretended everything was fine. But it wasn't! Gabriel knew it wasn't! Well, one thing was for sure, he wasn't going to let his new family go through what his real one went through.

So maybe transporting Sam, Dean, Adam, and Cas to a private tropical island without their permission wasn't the best way to start a conversation, but at least it got them someplace that they couldn't run away.

"The fuck?!" Dean cursed, looking like he wasn't sure whether he should be pissed or whether he should just take the tropical paradise in stride and have fun.

"Brother, why have you brought us hear?" Castiel asked, as if Gabriel had done nothing more than dropped by with an unexpected present.

"So, this is how things are going to work." Gabriel stated firmly, making eye contact with each member of the group. "We are going to stay here until we talk things out. You will not be allowed to swim, get a tan, nor do anything fun unless it contributes to us working things out."

"The Hell are you talking about?!" Adam shrieked, turning to his brothers. "I thought you said these were the trustworthy angels!"

"Well…uh..." Sam shrugged, "I know the whole zapping thing takes getting used to, but…there're a lot worse things than getting taken to a tropical island."

"All of which is beside the point!" Gabriel snapped. "This doesn't turn into a vacation until we've fixed things!"

"Fix what exactly?" Dean snapped.

"This." Gabriel made a circular motion with his finger, gesturing to their group. They stared back at him blankly.

"I believe I speak for everyone when I say that we are unaware of what is broken." Castiel cocked his head to the side.

"Oh, please!" Gabriel rolled his eyes. "You think I haven't noticed something's up?" Still just blank stares. "The tense conversations? The arguments? The meaningful glances in each other's direction meant to convey some hidden message?" Sam's face was the first to clear, and then he glanced at the others. "See!" Gabriel pointed at him. "That's what I mean! So what is it, boys? "A sudden realization dawned on him and his frown deepened. "Is it me? Do you want me to leave you guys alone?"

"NO!" Sam shouted. "I mean, yes, but not…"

"What Sam is trying to say," Castiel interrupted is that "is that, yes, it is about you, and no, we don't want you to leave."

Gabriel raised a brow. "Okay…so what is it?"

Castiel looked at Dean, who glanced at Adam, who turned to Sam, who gave a heavy sigh. "Really, guys?" Turning back to Gabriel. "Look, Gabriel, you've done a lot for us and we appreciate that."

"But you want me to stop popping in so much." Gabriel finished, giving a sad smile. He should have known that this would happen eventually; it wasn't like they'd had the best history.

"No!" Dean spoke up. "Aren't you listening? We. Like. You. Get it. Through. Your thick. Skull!"

Castiel frowned. "What Dean is saying, rather rudely, I might add, is that we enjoy having you around, brother, and we want you to feel more at home."

"We've decided to make you an honorary Winchester." Adam added. Gabriel opened his mouth but, for once, couldn't think of anything to say. "We just figured…it's the least we could do."

"Yeah." Sam took up the conversation. "I mean, you've done more for us than anyone. Except, maybe Cas. And Bobby." He gave his head a brief shake. "The point is you deserve a family."

"I-"

"One that's not entirely dysfunctional." Dean interjected, before Gabriel could finish.

Gabriel felt like he should protest but, if truth be told, Dean was right. Michael and Lucifer weren't trying to kill each other, but things were still unbelievably tense. Gabriel knew it was stupid, but he had been under the delusion that things would go back to normal if he could just get his brothers in the same room without killing each other. Not so. Five months after the averted Apocalypse and Luci and Mike were still beating the crap out of each other one day and being the best of friends the next. Things were improving, but painstakingly slowly.

So instead he gave a brief chuckle. "You're saying you guys are living the Apple Pie life?"

"I said not entirely dysfunctional; I didn't say perfect." Dean admitted.

"The choice is up to you, brother." Castiel approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder and staring intensely into Gabriel's eyes, as if the fate of the world rested on this decision. "But we all hope you will accept it."

Gabriel pretended to mull it over for a moment; in reality, his mind was already made up. "Does this mean I get to drive the Impala?"

"Don't push it!" Dean warned.

Gabriel shrugged. "Fine. I guess I'm in."


End file.
